How much do you need to retire?

How much do you need to retire?

Many people worries about retirement – The most frequently asked question should well be “how much should I really need?” Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine has a intensive article which answer this question. The article gives several examples with some solid suggestion on how to save your retirement funds:

Young workers don’t need to get hung up on a specific target for their retirement nest egg. Save as much as you can as early as you can and you’ll be off to a great start. Although there is no hard-and-fast rule, Christine Fahlund, senior financial planner with T. Rowe Price, recommends that young workers try to save 15% of their gross salary (including employer matching contributions) in order to replace 50% or more of their salary in retirement (the later you start, the more you’ll need to save).

Most retirees will also receive Social Security benefits that could replace another 20% or 30% of pre-retirement income. For the average wage earner — with an income of $37,000 in 2005 — Social Security replaces about 42% of pre-retirement income; the figure is less for those with higher earnings. That would boost total income close to the 75% to 85% range of pre-retirement earnings generally recommended…